The Army Corps of Engineers has raised concerns about a controversial proposal to frack for oil near Mandeville, stating among other things that steps to avoid wetlands impacts have not been taken and noting other possibly less problematic drilling sites have not been considered.

The letter the corps issued to Helis Oil & Gas details concerns raised by the corps, EPA, and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries that must be addressed by Helis Oil & Gas before water quality and wetlands permits for the project can be issued.

A separate letter from the state Department of Environmental Quality to Helis requires assurances that the project will not run afoul of the parish's master plan.

Helis is seeking the water quality permit from the state and a wetlands permit from the corps in connection with its proposal to drill for oil using the controversial hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking" process on land along Log Cabin Road north of Interstate 12 and east of Louisiana 1088. The company has asked the state Department of Natural Resources to approve a 960-acre area as a single drilling and production unit under which all mineral rights owners in the unit would benefit from a successful well.The company has not yet sought a drilling permit from the Department of Natural Resources.

Dated July 2 and addressed to Helis, the corps letter says the EPA is concerned that alternative non-wetlands sites may exist that have not been considered by Helis and that there is no indication the company has taken steps to avoid or minimize wetland impacts. The federal agency recommends that a permit not be issued until the company explains the need for the project to be located within a wetlands area and examines opportunities to minimize wetlands impacts by reducing or reconfiguring the project's footprint.

The letter also reflects concerns raised by the state Wildlife and Fisheries Department regarding an open pit that it says would be located on the drilling site adjacent to a wetland area. It says Helis "shall implement adequate erosion and sediment control measures to ensure that sediments or other activity related debris are not allowed to enter adjacent wetlands or other waters."

Helis spokesman Greg Beuerman said the issues raised by the governmental agencies amount to a standard request for additional information, which is not unusual for projects like the one in question. He said the company is preparing a formal response, which should be submitted to the agencies in a few days.

"This is very routine, a normal part of the permitting process," Beuerman said. "It is in no way indicative of a roadblock. It would be a mistake to overestimate the significance of this routine request."

The corps letter says the federal agency "presumes that there may be other available sites in this geographic region that would accommodate the applicant's (Helis) desired goals....that would be economically viable and environmentally less damaging." It says the site selected for Hellis contains about 91 percent wetlands.

It says the corps cannot "examine minimization and compensatory mitigation" until Helis successfully rebuffs presumptions that there are better places to drill.

Beuerman said Helis identified four other locations in the area and determined the site selected was best in terms of the concerns raised by the corps.

St. Tammany Parish Councilman Jake Groby, whose district includes the proposed well site, said the letter indicates the corps is taking the issue seriously. In April,Groby sent letters to the corps and DEQ asking that they deny the permits sought by Helis.

"The corps seems to be saying the same thing we've been saying all along," Groby said.

The councilman noted a passage in the DEQ letter requiring assurance from the company that the project "will not affect any adopted elements of the St. Tammany Parish Zoning Commission and the St. Tammany Parish Council master plan."

Groby said that reference may provide the parish ammunition in its fight the project, which has been the subject of major consternation in St. Tammany. Fracking opponents have staged numerous protests and have appeared at several public hearings to express their fears that the project will threaten the water supply and cause other environmental damage while driving down property values.